Engineered nanomembranes for smart energy storage devices

Engineered nanomembranes are of great interest not only for large-scale energy storage devices, but also for on-chip energy storage integrated microdevices (such as microbatteries, microsupercapacitors, on-chip capacitors, etc.) because of their large active surfaces for electrochemical reactions, shortened paths for fast ion diffusion, and easy engineering for microdevice applications. In addition, engineered nanomembranes provide a lab-on-chip electrochemical device platform for probing the correlations of electrode structure, electrical/ionic conductivity, and electrochemical kinetics with device performance. This review focuses on the recent progress in engineered nanomembranes including tubular nanomembranes and planar nanomembranes, with the aim to provide a systematic summary of their fabrication, modification, and energy storage applications in lithium-ion batteries, lithium-oxygen batteries, on-chip electrostatic capacitors and micro-supercapacitors. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between engineered nanomembranes and electrochemical properties of lithium ion storage with engineered single-tube microbatteries is given, and the flexibility and transparency of micro-supercapacitors is also discussed. Remarks on challenges and perspectives related to engineered nanomembranes for the further development of energy storage applications conclude this review.